Back to School

So, Monday was the first day of classes for this fall.  I'm just taking one class, Algebra.  The teacher seemed OK, though we don't take tests during class - we have to make outside of class time to take the tests.  Arg.  I am assured by other students that this, thankfully, is not the norm.  I'm sure it's a good thing in that we get more time to learn; it's just a bummer that I have to figure out how/when to take the tests.  One good thing about this set up is that the test isn't necessarily on a specific day... our first test is due by September 10th.  We have until the Learning Resource Center (LRC) closes on September 10th to take the test.  He said we can go in NOW if we wanted, though he doesn't recommend it  :)  

We did a review test the first day - I don't even want to know how I did on it!  The teacher, Shawn (he said to call him Shawn, maybe Mr. P, but definitely not Professor), quickly went over the syllabus, then passed out the review tests.  Once we were done, we were free to go. 

Today is Day 2!

Market Day

Market was quite nice today  :)  The sun actually came out & we shared our booth with a kid selling red & black currants (I tried both for the first time; we traded out for 2 containers of reds).  There wasn't much traffic, but it was also Kids' Day at & opening weekend for the Alaska State Fair.  While we didn't actually go to the fair, it was sort of like we did - we ate loads of bad food (including a bag of homemade marshmallows made with crushed gingersnaps), saw all kinds of animals, and I got a massage (which is even better than fair rides).  Grandma & the Moose came by Market for a while.  The Moose made herself at home in someone else's booth while eating zucchini bread and had a lovely time  LOL 

M&M (Me & the Moose) hooked up with B this evening for a lovely stroll & playtime in the park.  She let us put her on the see-saw!  Last time we tried, she cried  :(  This time, we buttered her up by letting her play for a while, getting her all good & into happy play time: she went down the slide by herself a couple of times, sort of played with other kids, and played a lot with some orange safety cones (will try to get pictures from my blasted phone at some point).  Then I scooped her up with me & we went on the see-saw - there were loads of giggles! It was a jolly good time  :) 

it was also Kids' Day at Market today - in a twist of luck, I forgot the pre-printed signs at work, so I colored with crayons last night & busted out some homemade signage  :)

Mmm.... check out those fava beans behind the herbs sign!  Those bad boys sold out  :)

Just another day in the neighborhood

So, today is definitely better than yesterday  :)  

I started a migraine last Thursday or Friday and it started to get bad on Wednesday.  On Thursday, I didn't last more than an hour & a half at work before I had to come home.  I decided I was attacking this mofo from the get-go!  Yobo's mama came to take the Moose out for some girl time & Yobo took me to the clinic.  The doc gave me a shot of what he called a "non-steroidal anti-inflammatory on steroids" and 2 pain shots - all to butt.  Four hours later, my pain wasn't all gone, but the anti-inflammatory knocked down almost all of the throbbing and I was tired!  Yobo treated me to a hamburger & then I knocked out when we got home.  Thankfully, today is much better.  The migraine's not quite gone yet, but now it's more like knocking on the door rather than barged in & knocked a sistah out. 

 

OMG.  scariest. picture. ever.

best. picture. ever.

best. game. ever.

ah, crap.

For those of you who don't know about fireweed, those pretty flowers above - yes, they are pretty; sadly, their completing bloom signals the end of the summer.  Almost fully bloomed fireweed = the end of fishing season, the end of the Midnight Sun, and the end of all the sanity that comes with proper Vitamin D exposure throughout the day.

Hello, hello

Hot dog!  It's been a busy time - we've been picking loads of berries, been on an unexpected social whirlwind, and work has been ca-razy!  The Moose & I have been on baby dates and to playgrounds and learning some independence lessons.  I am not a big fan of going to new places & meeting new people, especially by myself.  Since this amazing girl has been around, I've been making great strides in making us go out & experience new things.

Things are finally starting to ripen & the three of us have been harvesting peas & pea shoots, fava beans & greens, potatoes, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon berries, lettuce, garlic, onions, squash & squash flowers, and zucchini.  Market has been going well - we even brought some fava beans & greens and pea shoots with us.  We're trying to start a fava bean revival in Spenard. 

 

Lazy Sunday

We went to drop stuff off to Mimi & there were a bunch of kids there.  The youngest was this little cutie, L, who's 3.  He was pretty excited to not be the youngest one there & was SO sweet with the Moose.  

After some baby fun, we headed over to Nana's for our regularly scheduled Sunday visit.  Nana needed to get a car seat for her car, so we did a little shopping  :)

there was a kitty in the 2nd story window - they were fascinated.

the Moose HAD some shoes on, but she kept face-planting on the lawn, so I took them off.  score one for monkey feet!

mama/baby

we went shopping with Nana & the Moose got some new threads & kicks, plus a pretty bag  :)

new sandals  :)  she really digs these - now she has shoes like mama & dada!

Yard Happenings

fava beans

yay!

that stupid drunk moose (not the kid, the real moose) took 2 fat bites out of our lone sunflower

work hard, play hard

working hard, helping dad

her first successful walk in shoes

yes, that's water

what's next?!